After seven years of sinking toward the bottom of the league standings, competitive hockey is back in San Jose. Thanks to their blossoming core of young talent, the Sharks were the league’s most improved team last season — jumping up 34 points and nearly doubling their win total from 2024-25.
Now, after a busy offseason from general manager Mike Grier, assistant coach Jeff Ulmer believes this iteration of the team has what it takes to get over the hump.
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“We know it’s going to be tough, but we think that we can take a shot at the playoffs,” Ulmer said. “I think we’re all ready and focused on the right areas; it’s going to be exciting.”
Much of that belief stems from the revamped blue line, which now boasts Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse. Both Nurse and Trouba bring a physical playstyle that ‘keeps forwards on their toes,’ according to Ulmer, and add a much-needed veteran presence to a young roster.
Kesselring struggled to stay healthy last season with the Buffalo Sabres, but the 26-year-old showcased a strong puck-carrying ability when in the lineup. Ulmer believes Kesselring’s length and defensive presence can provide a boost to the Sharks’ penalty kill — one that finished 26th in the league last year.
Despite its lack of consistent success, Ulmer saw potential in the penalty kill.
“I think we gave up a lot of goals from missed clears, but I really liked our structure,” he said. ” Doug Houda runs it very similarly to Vegas’ kill […] they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and I thought ours was right there with them during the regular season.”
While the Sharks found pockets of success throughout the grueling 82-game season, they started the season with a six-game losing streak. Slow starts have been a point of weakness for San Jose, which lost its first nine games in 2024-25 and its first 11 in 2023-24 — tying the league record for losses to start the season.
Ulmer says starting the season strong will be critical in their push for the playoffs after missing out by just four points last season.
“We’re not going to make the playoffs in the first month,” he said. “But you can definitely put yourself behind the eight ball if you don’t get off to a good start.”
Despite the six-game slump to start the season, things turned around quickly for the Sharks, who found themselves in the hunt for the playoffs for the rest of the season. While much of that success has been credited to Macklin Celebrini‘s 115-point breakout, the supporting cast was vastly improved from 2024-25.
Will Smith, Collin Graf and Michael Misa all provided scoring depth throughout the top nine, something San Jose desperately missed in years past. On the blue line, Dmitry Orlov stepped up as the team’s No. 1 defenseman, and rookie Sam Dickinson brought a puck-moving ability the Sharks haven’t seen since Erik Karlsson.
That newfound depth on both ends showed up on the scoresheet, with the Sharks allowing 20 fewer goals on the season and losing only 10 games by four or more goals compared to 17 the year prior.
Ulmer believes the consistency came from a newfound maturity for a lot of the team’s younger players.
“My first year we had those five- or six-game losing streaks; those were really a mental grind over the course of the season,” he said. “Last year we didn’t really let that snowball, and we did a better job kind of being on an even keel.”
While the Sharks added a trio of established NHL veterans on the back end, offensive improvement will likely come in the form of internal development. Misa showed flashes of offensive play-driving as the season progressed, and he will play an increased role from his 12:49 a night last season.
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky and his staff have prioritized easing their rookies into the NHL, a blueprint Ulmer believes has paid dividends thus far.
“I think we’re just trying not to overwhelm our younger guys,” he said. “I felt even with some of our young guys like Misa we had a lot of good development days with him and video sessions […] and then by the end of the season, you saw he was able to take a real big step and be a good top-six player for us.”
One player who will likely see a similar path is 2026 No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg. The 18-year-old winger had the second-most productive draft-eligible season in the history of the Swedish Hockey League — only behind Hall of Fame forward Daniel Sedin.
Ulmer wouldn’t project where Stenberg will slot into the lineup, but said he is excited to see what the winger will bring to the forward core.
“It’s exciting anytime you see a prospect play in a man’s league and put up numbers like he did,” he said. ” In development camp, I really liked how he played in traffic and protected the puck […]seeing that he has a good development and base in that area is exciting for sure.”
20-year-old Igor Chernyshov is another forward Ulmer is looking to have a big impact next season. The 6-foot-3 winger appeared in 28 games last year, showing flashes of chemistry with Celebrini and Smith on the first line.
“It’s rare that a guy at that size can have that much skill; it looks like he could turn out to be a top-line winger,” he said. “I think I would speak for all the coaching staff. He’s a guy that we’re very excited to see in his first full year.”
While the rest of the Pacific Division will be more competitive this season, Ulmer believes the added veteran experience will be enough to bring playoff hockey back to San Jose.
“We’ve added some good leaders; even the coaching staff — we’ve been through it now,” he said. “We know how to get our guys ready, and I anticipate taking another step this season.”
